Course Description
Examines the components and management process of complex projects from the information technology (IT) perspective. Introduces project management tools and techniques useful to the IT professional. Studies the formation and leadership requirements of project management.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of the course, students should be able to
- Define activities as the basis for developing project schedules
- Use a Gantt chart for planning and tracking project schedules, describing dependencies, using Excel to perform PERT calculator and create a critical path
- Describe how project management software such as MS Project can support project management activities
- Explain basic project cost management principles, concepts and terms
- Understand the processes involved in cost budgeting and preparing a cost estimate and budget for an information technology project
Week 1
Lecture: Introduction
Outcomes
- Understand the reasons for the growing interest in project management for IT projects
- Define project management and describe the key elements of the project management environment
- Understand the concept of a project phase and the project life cycle
- Describe the unique attributes and diverse nature of IT projects
Week 2
Lecture: Constraints of Time and Cost
Outcomes
- Define activities as the basis for developing project schedules
- Use a Gantt chart for planning and tracking project schedules, describing dependencies, using the PERT calculator and create a critical path
- Describe how project management software such as MS Project can support project management activities
- Explain basic project cost management principles, concepts and terms
- Understand the processes involved in cost budgeting and preparing a cost estimate and budget for an IT project
Week 3
Lecture: Constraints of Scope and Quality
Outcomes
- Understand the importance of scope control and approaches for preventing scope-related problems on IT projects
- Understand the importance of project quality management for IT projects
- Define project quality management and understand how quality relates to the constraints of IT projects
- Discuss the importance of quality assurance
- Understand the tools and techniques for quality control
Week 4
Lecture: Project Management Environment
Outcomes
- Discuss how individual organizations design project management methodologies which meet their particular needs
- Describe an overall framework for project integration management
- Explain the strategic planning process
- Create a preliminary project scope statement
- Describe project management plan development, what it contains and when it occurs
Week 5
Lecture: Human Resource Management
Outcomes
- Define project human resource management and its processes
- Discuss human resource planning and be able to create a project organization chart, responsibility assignment matrix and resource histogram
- Understand the issues involved in project staff acquisition and explain the concepts of resource assignments, resource loading and resource leveling
- Describe the need for team development with training, and provide team-building activities
Week 6
Lecture: Communications Management
Outcomes
- Explain the elements of project communications planning
- Describe various methods for distributing project information
- Describe various methods for improving project communications
- Describe how software can assist in providing project communications
Week 7
Lecture: Risk Management
Outcomes
- Understand what risk is and the importance of project risk management
- Discuss risk identification, risk assessment and methods of risk mitigation
- Discuss what is involved in risk monitoring and control
- Describe how software can assist in project risk management
Week 8
Lecture: Procurement Management
Outcomes
- Understand the importance of project procurement management and the increasing use of outsourcing for information technology projects
- Describe the work involved in planning purchases and acquisitions for projects, the contents of a procurement management plan and contract statement of work
- Understand the importance of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and other emergent procurement approaches
The course description, objectives and learning outcomes are subject to change without notice based on enhancements made to the course. May 2011
